Community-AID Blog

Growing up, parents are constantly reinforcing behaviors and societal norms, which hopefully, will equip their kids to develop healthy habits allowing them to integrate seamlessly into adult society. For many of you, I’m sure you can relate to hearing at least one of the following phrases: “make sure you eat your vegetables,” “brush your teeth,” “say please and thank you,” “don’t stare,” “use your inside voice,” or “no, you can’t wear your Spiderman pajamas to school.” Aside from those, something I heard my mother constantly reiterate to me was, “what you do with your time matters.”

From a young age, my mother spent a lot of time getting us actively involved in the community by highlighting the importance of volunteering. For my mother – a single mom working in corporate America – volunteering as a family was a wonderful way to spend time with my brother and I, while still contributing the local community. However, as I’ve grown older, I’ve started to realizethe importance of those early volunteer experiences in shaping my life. Whether my mother knew it or not, she was teaching me about compassion, empathy, tolerance, gratitude, diversity, and the importance of building relationships. Not to mention, I learned a lesson that has guided me throughout my life: I learned that Ihave the power to make positive change.

My mother would emphasize volunteering as important to building our resumes, when in reality she was trying to provide us with experiences that transcended job readiness. Serving meals at the local homeless shelter or collecting school supplies for underserved kids didn’t build my work ethic as much as it exposed me to critical social issues and societal inequalities. By showing children the individuals and areas where help is needed in the community, you can tap into how they would like to make a difference.

Taking this all into consideration, it only makes sense that I’ve found myself working in the Community-AID Lab. Even though I never envisioned myself as a researcher, the Community-AIDlab has shown me the role of research in guiding service work to make a measureable impact. I now find myself surrounded by likeminded and compassionate individuals whoare also eager to create positive change in their communities.Whether you’re a college kid conducting community-based research or a seven year-old handing out water at a 5K race, you’re bound to learn something from the experience. ​So, what are you waiting for?